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Friday, January 19, 2007

Misstep

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I do like Gail Simone's work. In fact, I've been following her work since she was writing Deadpool (later, Agent X). So, I'm not putting her down. Back the hell off.

What I have a problem with is her portrayal of Big Barda.

First off, cleavage spot? Really? Not even Michael Turner had the nerve to do that. And why is she so thin? Isn't Big Barda supposed to be, you know, big? I'm not talking about big like competitive female bodybuilders or Wonder Woman's pal, Etta Candy, but damn, Barda looks like she was living on bread and water when Barbara came a'cruitin'.

Some of the other issues I have are minor, I guess. Things that seem to have been overlooked, like the fact Barda can make her armor appear on her body, while in BoP #100, she seems to be changing in the helicopter. And in the next issue, she has to jump from the jet to the copter, when she has Aero Discs to fly.

I think what gets to me most is that it seems Simone has downplayed Barda to make her fit into this team of only human superheroes. She could have broke into that prison, grabbed the girl, and boom tubed out in minutes, if not seconds. It's as though Barda is now somewhere around Spider-Man's level of strength; enough to be impressive but not too much to make prison fights beneath her.

I like Big Barda, and am digging having her in Miracle-less situations. But please don't lessen the character to make her fit the story.